April 4, 2018

Trump to send National Guard troops to border

Under President Donald Trump’s plan to send military troops to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would consult with the governors of border states to decide how many National Guard troops are needed.

NM Political Report asked Gov. Susana Martinez’s office if she supports deploying troops along the border and if she had spoken with the White House about these plans. Her office did not respond by press time despite three emails to her public information officers.

Nielsen’s announcement clarified Trump’s earlier statements that he would be “guarding our border with our military.”

New Mexico U.S. Senator Tom Udall criticized Trump’s proposed action in a statement on Wednesday. The Democrat said it was “another pitiful attempt to distract attention from the dangerous chaos the president is creating, including disruption in the stock market, a trade war with China, saber rattling with North Korea, numerous accusations of sexual misconduct by the president, mounting news reports that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and others in his cabinet are improperly spending taxpayer dollars on themselves while doling out favors to their industry campaign donors, and of course, Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and evidence that it plans to do the same in November.”

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich said on Twitter it showed that Trump “is grossly out of touch with [the] reality of our experience in NM.”

Despite Trump’s assertions that illegal border crossings are a problem, they are at their lowest level since 1971 according to CBS News.

Past presidents have ordered National Guard troops to the border before, including President Barack Obama in 2010 and President George W. Bush in 2006. According to the Washington Post, Obama ordered 1,200 National Guard troops to the border to combat drug trafficking, while Bush committed 6,000 National Guard troops to combat illegal immigration.

If Martinez agrees to send National Guard troops to the border, it wouldn’t be the first time New Mexico has done so: In 2010, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson ordered National Guard troops to the border to aid in border enforcement.

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Matthew Reichbach is the editor of the NM Political Report. The former founder and editor of the NM Telegram, Matthew was also a co-founder of New Mexico FBIHOP with his brother and one of the original hires at the groundbreaking website the New Mexico Independent. Matthew has covered events such as the Democratic National Convention and Netroots Nation and formerly published, “The Morning Word,” a daily political news summary for NM Telegram and the Santa Fe Reporter.
Matthew has appeared as a panelist for the Society of Professional Journalists’ New Mexico Chapter’s panel on covering New Mexico politics and the legislature.
A native New Mexican from Rio Rancho, Matthew’s family has been in New Mexico since the 1600s.